Maximum power point tracker with solar prioritizer in photovoltaic application

The global use of solar photovoltaic system is accelerating rapidly due to the ever-decreasing cost and improvement on cell efficiency. The variation in solar irradiance, weather condition and temperature cause the non-linear output V-I characteristics of solar cell. To get maximum power from the solar array instantaneously, there is a need of an efficient maximum power point tracker. This study has implemented the incremental conductance MPPT algorithm in hardware and compared the result with software model using MATLAB/SIMULINK. This algorithm automatically changes duty cycle of the converter connected to the solar panel, so that the panel voltage becomes equal to the voltage equivalent to maximum power point at any level of insolation, temperature or load conditions. It is found that the software modeled MPPT algorithm increased the PV output by 38 % while it was 33% in hardware implementation. The prioritizer embedded in the system optimizes the use of solar power rather than utility grid.